GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota got goals from four different players and shutout the Omaha hockey team 4-0 in the first game of their best of three NCHC Quarterfinal series.

The Fighting Hawks scored three times in the second period, extending a 1-0 lead and leaving the Mavericks little time for a comeback in the third.  The loss drops the Mavericks to 17-16-2 on the season.  They now must win game two of the series on Saturday to force a deciding game three on Sunday.  UND improved to 15-12-10.

UND opened the scoring at 13:53 of the first period.  Shane Gersich took a drop pass and, with a screen in front of Evan Weninger, fired home his 12th goal of the season.

The Fighting Hawks extended their lead in the second period.  Christian Wolanin scored a power play goal one minute in, and Nick Jones and Joel Janatuinen added tallies late in the stanza to make it 4-0 after two.

Weninger made several strong saves in the third period to keep UND from adding to its lead.  He made 30 saves while Cam Johnson stopped 25 shots to earn his second shutout of the Mavericks this season.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 7:08 p.m.

GAME NOTES:

• The game marked the seventh time this season that UNO has been shutout, tying a school record set during the 1998-99 season.
• The Mavericks fell to 2-9 in NCHC playoff games.  They also dipped to 10-14 all-time in series openers and 2-3 in NCHC series openers.  The Mavericks lost both prior NCHC series in which they dropped game one.

Three Stars:  1. Christian Wolanin/UND (One goal); 2. Colton Poolman/UND (Two assists); 3. Cam Johnson/UND (25 saves)